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On that day, Pang Yuanying captured all the rioters and brought them back to the Yamen for interrogation. After such a long time of turmoil, the troublesome thorn in his side was finally mostly removed, and he naturally felt refreshed and in a very good mood.
As for the remaining trivial matters of the interrogation, there was no need for him, the Marquis, to worry. He had many subordinates under him, each with their own unique skills, and they were not idle. As long as one of the captured ruffians knew who the mastermind was, they would surely be able to find out.
Of course, Pang Yuanying also understood that this possibility was slim.
With the main task completed, Lord Pang couldn't help but think of the Qin Beauty he had longed for but had yet to obtain. He pondered that it might be nice to tease the Beauty when he had some free time to lighten his mood.
Mainly, he had been feeling quite bored lately. The celebratory banquet hosted by the Magistrate was just mediocre; in the past, he had been too lazy to attend various grand feasts in the capital, let alone a banquet in such a place. At that moment, without a beautiful Beauty to prepare delicious Pufferfish for him, how could he bring himself to lower his standards? He wouldn't even give face to those at the Yun County government office; he wouldn't even show his face at that so-called celebratory banquet.
Unexpectedly, just as he rode near Four Seasons Alley, an arrow came flying towards him. Pang Yuanying caught the arrow and saw that it was adorned with a gold hairpin.
The pin was thin and merely an ordinary gilded hairpin, not worth much, but it was intricately carved with plum blossoms that looked quite exquisite.
No matter how exquisite it was, it was still just a cheap hairpin. Pang Yuanying had handled countless treasures of gold and silver since he was young; gifts he casually bought to please certain beauties were worth hundreds of times more than this broken hairpin.
He glanced around at the bustling marketplace filled with people coming and going and could only barely guess that this arrow had come from a nearby tavern.
Pang Yuanying frowned and signaled to his bodyguards to go take a look. He didn't think much of it and intended to throw away the hairpin casually. However, at that moment when he made his move, he suddenly paused as an image flashed before his eyes—dark hair styled up with just a delicate gold hairpin adorning it. Such a simple decoration was far more memorable than those noble ladies in the capital adorned with pearls and jewels.
He withdrew his hand, his pupils constricting as his heart sank—this was Consort Qin's item!
Before he could think further, his body acted on its own accord as he galloped into Four Seasons Alley, racing straight to the Qin Family's door just in time to see a Lady-in-Waiting returning from shopping.
"Where is Consort Qin?"
Pang Yuanying asked urgently with a darkened expression.
The Lady-in-Waiting glanced up and caught sight of the Marquis, whose face was so striking that even women couldn't help but feel jealous. Even though his expression was far from gentle, it still left most girls spellbound. Her head immediately felt dizzy, and she could no longer maintain her composure; her vigilance had vanished without a trace. "In the backyard," she stammered.
If Qin Yaru were to witness this scene, the first thing she would do is dismiss this Lady-in-Waiting for breaking decorum all for the sake of beauty. What family would dare employ such a Lady-in-Waiting?
Pang Yuanying leaped off his horse and rushed into the backyard. The Lady-in-Waiting snapped back to reality, her face turning pale with fear as she saw a group of men charging toward the backyard. She hurriedly followed, shouting, "Sir, how can you trespass into the inner courtyard? Please slow down; don't frighten my Wife and Husband..."
In the yard, on the Stone Table, Qin Yaru's apron was neatly stacked, but where was the Beauty?
Pang Yuanying walked over slowly and picked up the apron. A faint fragrance wafted toward him, but his heart tightened. He had never realized that he could feel so anxious over a mere woman.
"I haven't won the beauty yet; how can I let someone else have her?" Pang Yuanying gritted his teeth, his face flushing red. He turned to the group of guards behind him and whispered, "Immediately seal off the entire county."
Fortunately, Pang Yuanying still had some rationality left. Knowing that Da Lang was at home with the child, he feared scaring the child and refrained from shouting loudly. He arranged for two skilled guards to stay behind.
At that moment, the guard he had initially sent out to trace the source of the arrow returned, but he was too late; there was no one left.
The tavern was bustling at that time, and the Shop Assistant couldn't recall what the customer sitting by the window looked like; all she knew was that he was dressed like a scholar and appeared quite refined.
After leaving Qin Yaru's home, Pang Yuanying turned Four Seasons Alley upside down, inquiring and searching from house to house. He checked every place where Qin Yaru might have gone.
Since someone had sent him an arrow with a message, he worried it might be his enemies' doing. After some thought, he ordered that group of unruly people detained in prison to be brought out for questioning.
However, these so-called unruly individuals were completely clueless; they didn't even know who Consort Qin was. This incident didn't seem like something they had planned.
This Marquis's ability to take action was indeed impressive; he managed to uncover quite a few leads. When Qin Yaru left Four Seasons Alley, she had walked out on her own. The Qin Family wasn't in a remote area, so naturally, someone had seen her. The two who had abducted her were also unfamiliar faces; in a place like Wudang County, unfamiliar faces were not common, and the locals paid close attention to these outsiders.
Not long after, Pang Yuanying found the inn where the robbers were staying and the restaurant where they had eaten. He even had someone draw their portraits, following the trail all the way.
Up to this point, everything was going smoothly. Du Jiu didn’t take it seriously; his own Marquis had done many bad deeds but rarely did anything good. Of course, he wouldn’t stop it and thought that once this matter was settled, he would send a letter home to inform his father that the Marquis had grown a lot and was no longer just causing trouble in the capital.
However, unexpectedly, Pang Yuanying followed the clues and finally got information from an old man who sold Hu Bing. The old man had seen two men bring a stunningly beautiful woman to buy Hu Bing from him and had watched them enter Wu Niangzi's house.
Pang Yuanying was no ordinary person; he was well-versed in matters of pleasure. Wu Niangzi, who ran a half-open business in Wudang County, was quite famous. He had visited her a few times out of curiosity, but although Wu Niangzi was beautiful, she always wore a sorrowful expression that did not appeal to him. After two visits, he found it uninteresting and stopped going.
Upon receiving the news, he headed straight for the Wu Family. Since he was very familiar with the place, he became somewhat careless and did not notify Du Jiu, bringing only two people with him.
As a result, he went missing. His master's guards tracked him down to the Wu Family and found only broken furniture and bloodstains.
The guards were terrified and quickly informed Du Jiu. Du Jiu was shocked; his vision darkened as he felt blood rush to his head, nearly fainting. He forced himself to ask about the situation and sent people from the Magistrate's office to search, feeling extremely anxious.
Just when Du Jiu was at a loss for what to do, he received a letter from the kidnappers demanding that Du Jiu exchange Qin Yaru for Pang Yuanying.
It was then that he learned that the rumored kidnapped Consort Qin had actually escaped on her own while the Marquis was searching for her on the streets. It truly was a case of mistaken circumstances.
For Du Jiu, the most important thing was Pang Yuanying's safety; as for Qin Yaru, whether she lived or died did not concern him at all.
At this moment, Qin Yaru stood calmly in the hall and said coolly, "Please feel free to give your orders."
Seeing this beautiful woman composed and unruffled, even Du Jiu felt somewhat uneasy. He made an effort to soften his expression and said, "Consort Qin need not worry too much; I will ensure that both you and the Marquis are brought back safely. I will make sure those reckless rogues pay dearly."
Qin Yaru sighed inwardly but could only thank him politely—what else could she do? Being courteous might encourage these people to exert themselves a little more.
"Let me take some things with me."
Although she was about to enter the tiger's den, Qin Yaru had never been one to act recklessly. She wore her protective suit and went back to open her medicine box, taking a stack of cloths soaked in strong anesthetic, which she stuffed into her pocket. The scalpel would definitely be useless; those people had suffered under her blade before, and this time they would surely be on guard, making it impossible for her to catch them off guard again.
This scalpel could not be made with today's technology, and Qin Yaru was reluctant to waste it, so she simply left it at home and instead grabbed a handful of steel needles, hiding them in her hair.
Once Qin Yaru was prepared, she exchanged a few words with Elder Ji, asking him to take care of Da Lang, and then set off with Du Jiu. Elder Ji felt extremely distressed and kept muttering, "It would have been better to send you to the capital earlier. Why make you wait? Waiting and waiting only leads to trouble."
Not only him, but even Qin Yaru herself felt a bit regretful. If she had left Wudang earlier and gone to Kaifeng City, wouldn't she have been able to avoid this disaster?
Du Jiu also felt awkward about urging her. Since Consort Qin had so readily agreed to go with him, he couldn't possibly leave her no time for preparation at all.
The kidnappers had instructed Du Jiu to take Qin Yaru to a place that was surprisingly not some remote location but rather the Baiyun Temple on Wudang Mountain. Baiyun Temple is an ancient Taoist temple with over a hundred years of history, bustling with visitors and lively.
Du Jiu led his soldiers in disguise and secretly surrounded the entire Baiyun Temple. However, since the Marquis was currently in their hands, he did not dare to openly drive away the worshippers and priests; it was indeed tightly secured.
The sky was clear and peaceful, but Du Jiu's heart was restless as he watched Qin Yaru walk alone according to the instructions toward the back courtyard of Baiyun Temple. He wasn't worried about Qin Yaru suddenly escaping; Da Lang was still there, so where could she run? He only feared that once they captured Consort Qin, they might not let her go. But now that they held the Marquis in their hands, he didn't dare take any risks.
Consort Qin truly could not be compared to his master.
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